The students and faculty from the Blavatnik School of Government and the Saïd Business School went head-to-head for the annual MPP vs. MBA Debate last Saturday.
The student-led event is already on its way to become a tradition that brings together the two Oxford University graduate programmes. This year’s debate revolved around one of the biggest challenges of our time – climate change. The motion for debate was the following: "This house believes that business is more capable of alleviating climate change than government." The Said Business School argued the proposition, while the Blavatnik School of Government argued the opposition.
For the first time the debate was held at the Oxford Union, one of the most prestigious debating societies in the world, in front of an audience of over 200 people. The MPP students scored a clear victory, making everyone at the Blavatnik School very proud – the final tally was 61 Ayes to 125 Noes.
Diwakar Kishore, MPP student and one of the speakers, says: “The prospect of speaking at the oldest debating union in the world was exciting enough by itself; the fact that we were representing the public policy school here at Oxford, while discussing the most important contemporary issue of our times, made this debate an exhilarating experience.
“As Team MPP we used the concepts we discuss in class such as problem of collective action, purpose and tools of governance etc. The support we got was unbelievable. It felt like the entire cohort had come together to put up a united front. It was a special night for me, the memory of which will bring a smile, for years to come.”
The MPP students have scored a series of victories in previous debates – with motions debating topics such as the value of career in business as opposed to a career in government, and the role of markets and governments for eliminating extreme poverty. Winners and losers aside, the students say that debates like these are useful to reinforce the knowledge that government and business are not mutually exclusive, but must find the right conditions to work together to tackle global issues.
“And also, winning a debate by over a 100% margin never hurts,” adds Diwakar.
The MBA Debate Team:
- Kael Roberts
- Pam Alquisada
- Josh Sacks
- Hiram Samel (Faculty member)
The MPP Debate Team:
- Zahra Latif
- David Barda
- Diwakar Kishore
- Nikolas Kirby (Faculty member)
The event was co-organized by the Global Business, Government, & Politics - Oxford Business Network, the Blavatnik School of Government and Said Business School. Connor Lyons from the Blavatnik School and Will Leiner from SBS coordinated it from each side.
